Chen was recognized for transforming a post-fire WhatsApp group into what EFSN describes as the nation’s largest fire survivor recovery network, now connecting more than 10,000 Eaton, Palisades and Malibu fire survivors and allies, according to the organization’s website.
The network says it has helped unlock over $100 million in delayed insurance payouts deposited into survivor accounts during its first year.
The annual Woman of the Year program, founded in 1987 and organized by the California Legislative Women’s Caucus, recognizes 120 women statewide each March — one from each of the state’s 40 Senate and 80 Assembly districts.
Pérez presented Chen with a framed resolution during the ceremony, according to the senator’s office. Senate President pro Tem Monique Limón and Sens. Brian Jones and Caroline Menjivar also attended.
“Joy is a force of nature who has worked with endless energy to advocate for the survivors of the Eaton Fire,” Pérez said in a statement released by her office. “She is fighting every day to create an equitable recovery for all fire survivors and has been an invaluable partner in some of my most critical legislation to support Altadena’s healing.”
Chen, a former deputy mayor of Los Angeles, co-founded what became EFSN from a pickleball WhatsApp group at the Altadena Town & Country Club after the Eaton Fire struck on January 7, 2025, according to the organization’s website and a profile by the California Community Foundation. The fire killed at least 19 people and destroyed 9,414 structures, devastating Altadena — a community within Pérez’s district.
“I’m deeply honored by this recognition and grateful to Senator Pérez for her fierce support for fire survivors,” Chen said in the statement. “The work of EFSN exists because thousands of families refused to be invisible, and today more than 10,000 survivors and allies are standing together to demand a real path home.”
More than 14 months after the fire, thousands of Altadena families remain displaced. EFSN’s advocacy prompted the California Insurance Commissioner to investigate State Farm’s handling of thousands of wildfire insurance claims, according to the California Community Foundation.
EFSN, which Chen leads, is listed as co-sponsor on multiple Pérez bills targeting insurance and utility accountability. SB 1076, introduced in February, would require insurance companies to write and renew policies for fire-safe homes. The bill is co-sponsored by EFSN and Consumer Watchdog, according to Pérez’s office.
One fire survivor, identified only as Gina, whose parents lost their home in the Eaton Fire, said in a statement published by EFSN: “The Eaton Fire Survivors Network has been so powerful, building bridges for people who are desperate and people who are tired and people who shouldn’t have to be fighting for their lives.”
Chen’s family was also directly affected by the fire, according to the California Community Foundation. They were in the smoke-damaged category and moved nine times with two teenage girls and two cats.
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